Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021
Just an update on work that’s ongoing on the Plymouth.
FUEL FILLER LEAK. At the last local car cruise, I topped off the Plymout’s fuel tank on my way to town. I ended up parking in a spot leaving the car parked in an “uphill” position, which allowed fuel to begin leaking from the tank filler. It was a substantial leak too — so much so that the other car owners were concerned about my starting the car with a puddle of raw gas beneath the rear bumper. As a group, we pushed the car backward in an arc about 4 spots down from where I was, which positioned the car with the rear end “uphill” … this stopped the fuel leak.
The problem is the rubber hose that connects the long gas filler tube that runs from the side of the car over to the tank, which is mounted on the opposite side of the area under the trunk. The car has a long filler tube as a result. The filler tube runs along with the tank vent tube, and both connect to the tank with a short piece of rubber hose. That hose has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. I have not removed the old tube, but once things calm down I plan to see what its going to take. It may turn into quite a job because the filler and vent tube run together as one, and I think I’m going to have to remove the filler tube assembly to replace the connector hose.
CHARGING SYSTEM UPDATE. My new 120-amp 1-wire alternator arrived this week from Quality Power, along with a cable for the dash light and a universal mounting bracket. I plan to preserve the generator’s original wiring and the generator, though once I complete the conversion I have NO plans to go back to the generator! Not sure when I’ll get the conversion done, but its a high priority item.
GARAGE WORK UNDERWAY. I still have work to complete in order to finally get electricity working in the new garage. I’ve had thoughts of just hiring someone to do it, but my plans are to do the work so it follows the code and would pass inspection. I’m simply bringing in a 120v line and breaking that into two circuits — one for outlets, the second for lights. I’ll run 220 v in from the barn next door.
I’m not going to remove 220v from the barn, however. I’m going to replace the existing air compressor with a two-stage unit, and will need power there for that. I’m thinking of running a direct bury size-appropriate cable from the barn to the garage in an appropriate conduit. The two buildings are only 4 feet apart.
CHRISTMAS GIFT! My wife is buying me a 9-drawer, 4-foot wide rolling tool cabinet with a hardwood top. I’ve seen YouTube reviews on this thing, and its pretty damn nice quality for the money — $399. I need more tool storage space, and I expect to use it for most of my hand tools, socket sets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.
We are thinking of going to Harbor Freight tomorrow afternoon and picking it up. If we do, I’m also going to buy a couple of gravity feed spray guns and probably some inexpensive screwdriver sets. I don’t have a full set of good screwdrivers, mine are all scraps from one set or another I’ve owned over the past 40 years. And besides, I tend to use screwdrivers for many purposes other than turning screws, lol.
GARAGE ADDITION. No, no, don’t jump to conclusions — I’m not thinking of adding to my garage (not just yet, anyway). But I think there’s a feature that I would use if I had it — and that’s exhaust hose venting. I would like to let the Plymouth run sometimes in the garage, but not real comfortable with filling the shop with exhaust fumes. I need to do a little research on the safest way to do that before I go cutting holes in the garage or the overhead door.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS. With our holiday events mostly completed, it appears that I may get some time to work in the garage over the next couple of weeks, and I’m looking forward to that.
I received my NOS headlight doors this week, and waiting to install them — or simply set them up on a shelf and venerate them, given their price, lol! I also just bought an additional radio dash mounting plate that matches the one in the Belvedere. I’ve always told myself that if I could get one that matched the original,, I would consider modifying it for use with a modern radio, i.e., one with AM and FM and USB inputs. I have a working original radio to go in the car, but I might prefer a unit with FM and USB.
REST OF THE TO-DO LIST. Yeah, I keep thinking of additional little projects for the Belvedere. I need to pick one and tackle it and move on to the next one. The more parts I buy on eBay, the longer my list becomes.
The list includes the following:
CIGARETTE LIGHTER REPLACEMENT. I have a NOS one to install. Need this to charge our phones, not light cigs, naturally.
VALVE COVER PAINT/GASKET REPLACEMENT. I’m hoping this will solve the oil leaks that seem to intermittently drip oil onto the exhaust manifolds.
HORN SEPARATION. The pair of replacement horns I purchased are mounted on a single bracket. The originals were separated, with one mounted on the back of each side of the radiator support. Right now they’re simply there as a pair, and doesn’t look ideal. I’ll have to fabricate a mounting bracket for them, but that’s not impossible.
DOOR PANEL UPHOLSTERY. I have the door panel boards and the dark blue vinyl to redo the door panels The blue vinyl isn’t as “fancy” textured as the original, so I may hold off on doing those. I’m not tied to them being original, but I don’t want the door panels to stick out as very different from the seats and rear panels.
DRIVESHAFT REPLACEMENT. I have to get the Plymouth out to A1A Auto to get the measurements for the new driveshaft.
DASH LIGHTS / WARNING LIGHTS. I need to go into the dash and replace lights that are either burned out or not working. The dash lights themselves are incredibly dim; I can’t really read the speedometer or other gauges while driving at night. The turn signal lights don’t work in the dash, and the high-beam indicator light is blindingly bright. I also have new red lenses to go in the dash for GEN and OIL.
RENEW LIGHT FIXTURE PAINT. I would like to check the taillights to see if the housings are still reflective enough to keep the tail lights bright. They seem pretty bright as it is.
BODY REPAIRS. My plan is to fix the emerging rust in the lower panels over the winter. I’m not sure how much rust is there, and more importantly, how much bondo is there. My hope is that I’m not going to open up a can of worms. I guess I’ll deal with whatever comes.
Well, that’s about the extent of the “short list”, lol. If I get all or most of this done between now and April, I’ll be one happy camper. I need to make a list of this list and post it in the garage to help keep me on track.